The present invention is directed to a alleviating the effects of antineoplastic disease treatment.
The treatment of cancer by use of chemotherapy is presently commonplace. Such treatments may occur either alone or in conjunction with surgical removal of a tumor and/or radiation therapy. Such treatments are not without side effects to the patient. Chemotherapy agents which are toxic to cancer cells are also toxic to non-cancerous cells. The most susceptible cells of the patient are those having the highest rate of cell division; e.g., the bone marrow, hair and the gastrointestinal tract. A patient undergoing cancer treatment accordingly frequently suffers from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss and lessened immune function (due to the lessened blood forming function of the bone marrow). It has also been found that administration of high levels of the therapeutic agent taxol may result in severe neurotoxicity in the form of peripheral neuropathy (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,804). Chemotherapeutic agents such as Adriamycin (doxorubicin hydrochloride) are also dose-limited due to the cardiotoxic effects of this agent.
Various methods have been proposed to lessen the toxic effects of antineoplastic disease treatment. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,224; 4,594,238; 4,620,973; 4,938,949; 4,980,149; 5,002,755; 5,035,878; 5,292,497; 5,294,430; and 5,496,804.
Unfortunately, none of the above methods of treatment have been very successful. The degree of success of such methods is generally not predictable due to the fact that the degree of success achieved is dependent upon the susceptibility of the patient to the particular treatment employed. In fact, it is now believed that some patients may be even more susceptible to the effects of treatment of antineoplastic disease by chemotherapy and/or radiation due to factors such as comorbid addictions and environmental factors. It is believed, for example, that xenobiotic toxic agents such as pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, heavy metals, oxidants, solvents and other environmental toxins encountered by the patient by various means (e.g., drinking water, food contamination, etc.) may enhance the susceptibilty of the patient to the toxic effects of such treatment. Such xenobiotic agents place stress on the nervous system (both central and peripheral) by inhibiting the ability of the nervous system to efficiently transmit nerve impulses along the synapse. The treatment of such a patient for antineoplastic disease may accordingly accentuate the degree of diminishment of function of the patient's nervous system, and hence the side effects suffered by the patient.